Şehriban Aslan - Sema Çağlak

 

DİYARBAKIR - Saying that the prison conditions for political prisoners are getting worse day by day, the prisoner's relative Saadet Sipek said: "My son has been in prison for 12 years for no reason. As this is not enough, worm come out of the food that is not given properly.” Saadet added that in their application to the ECtHR, a release order was issued for her son, but the state arrested her son once again.

 

While the living conditions of political prisoners in prisons in the region and Turkey are getting worse day by day, conditions have become doubly difficult with the pandemics. The information given by the prisoners through their families and lawyers reveals that there are intense violations of rights in prisons.

 

While some families can go to open meetings once or twice a year due to the fact that their prisoners are held in prisons in different cities, some families cannot even go to closed meetings even though they have been living in the same city for almost one and half years due to the pandemics. While prisoners were often put in cells due to arbitrary disciplinary punishments in prisons, this situation increased even more with the pandemics. Prisoners who experience violations in meeting their basic needs such as health, cleanliness and nutrition are also frequently exposed to pressure and violence by prison administrations.

 

Prisoner Ömer Sipek's mother, Saadet Sipek, said that her son remained in Diyarbakır D Type Closed Prison for six years, and one year after he was released, he was arrested again and sent to Konya Ereğli Prison. Saadet stated that her son has been held in prison for a total of 12 years without any reason.

 

‘They took the book with the banderole and made evidence’

 

Saying that Ömer gives folklore lessons to the students at Gaffar Okkan Anatolian High School and the neighborhood, Saadet stated that her son aims to keep children and youth away from substance use in this way. Noting that their house was raided one morning with the operation, Saadet stated: “We opened our eyes and saw those who entered with guns. They turned upside down the house. They even took the banderoled book my children bought from the library and used it as evidence against us. When I was bad, one of the police said, 'Don't be afraid, we will host your son for a few days and send him back', but my son has been in prison for six years. My son's school life and business life are over."

 

‘ECHR decides evacuation, but state arrested him’

 

Stating that her feet have become callused after going to and from the prisons for six years, Saadet said that her son set his body on fire after three years in prison and mentioned that his body was burned as 45 percent. Saadet, who stated that she was not allowed to meet when she went to visit, said: "My son already has handcuffs on his hand. When I asked, “What can I or he do?” they said that I would never see him. They would not even let me see through the door. My son spent six years in prison here. We applied to the European Court of Human Rights due to long-term detention. The evacuation decision has been made. He stayed abroad for one year and went to work in Çorum. They were detained and arrested again with the operation there."

 

‘He was kept away from everything for one and half years’

 

Stating that Ömer was taken from Çorum and sent to Konya Ereğli Prison, Saadet said to the guard at the entrance of the prison asked to him, "What is your opinion?" Her son answered the question, "Isn't it obvious? I am a Kurd". Stating that the guards threw Ömer in the cell after Ömer said, "I am a Kurd", Saadet continued: "He was kept away from TV, newspaper and other prisoners for one and half years. During that time, when he called us, I heard him stutter when I talked to him. When I asked him, he said there was no such thing. Later, I learned that for a year and a half, he was alone and away from everything and had reached the level of forgetting to speak. He had cramps in his legs because he could not walk. There is no limit to the cruelty and inhumanity committed by this state."

 

‘We will see persecution as long as this state exists’

 

Noting that she could not see her son now due to the coronavirus, Saadet said that they spoke once a week and although they had the right to speak for 10 minutes, their conversation did not last even 10 minutes. Saadet stated that her son has been in prison for 12 years, has severe asthma, and is constantly hospitalized. Saadet said: "Currently, there are five more prisoners with him. My son went on a hunger strike, but his friends told him that he should not go on hunger strike and that his health condition could not afford it. Despite this, my son is on a hunger strike."

 

Stating that she was also exposed to police violence, Saadet said that because they wanted "justice" for the prisoners in front of the prison, the police hit her kidneys with the radio-set and her kidneys hurt and blood came out for days. Saadet said: "As long as this state is at our head, we will suffer this oppression. I petition for honorable Kurds to raise their voices and end this persecution. Every day, we open our eyes with the police, with broken doors."

 

‘The prosecutor’s office did not even respond to the petition’

 

Saadet finally spoke as follows: "The last time I spoke to my son, he said that no food was given, and that large worms appeared in the food given. Does this fit into Islam? Is this justice? My daughter went to see her sister once and saw how bad her condition was. We petitioned the prosecutor's office to be transferred here. The prosecution left it unanswered without any action. End this cruelty now. Our children are not given peace either outside or inside. Not also given to us. But our kids don't give up either."